Should a CNA be told of patients condition

[jdchisolm68]

I have a patient (among my 12-15) in a ltc that I care...he's mobile, refuses to wear a brief and pees everywhere...nursing station..hallway...sink...pretty much anywhere..now he does bm's at random as well....his behavior has been off the charts lately and then at the end of a 6 day 8 hr shift of cleaning him up and his waste the nurse told me he has a MRSA infection... in my opinion I should have been told about this condition much earlier...he also has 3 roomates which could be exposed through him leaving a trail of bm through the room.....should I have been told he has a MRSA infection? My precautions wouldn't have changed but I think I should have known since I'm the one dealing with this person.

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

Uh... yeah, they should have told you.

[Poi Dog]

What fuzzy posted.

Why isn't the dude in an isolation room on lockdown?

[kids]

If it doesn't change the care you give why does it matter?

His leaving "a trail" of BM or urine isn't going to spread MRSA unless they are the source of infection.

Not all MRSA needs to be isolated.

[yousoldtheworld]

Yeah, that's the kind of thing that needs to be communicated in report, for sure. While it's true that not all MRSA can be passed on by bm or vomit, the staff should know WHERE the patient has the MRSA - whether it is in a wound, or whatever.

[student forever]

I have a friend whose mother was asked to be removed from a ltc because her mother's screaming at night woke the whole place. Aren't there some regulations about behavior that is disgusting/disruptive to the other people who call this place "home" to say nothing of the folks who have to work there?

[tomc5555]

If he has MRSA then you should wear a gown and maybe a mask, along with the gloves. Personal protective equipment should be provided outside the room and contact precautions posted.

Sure, MRSA may be limited to say a wound that is covered, but what happens if the pt comes in contact with his wound and spreads the MRSA?

I think the state would come down very hard on your facility for not posting precautions and isolating this unstable incontinent patient.

This is a big problem, I would take it up with the DON, or call the state.

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

Yes those kinds of things need to be communicated. We once had a patient who was HIV+. I always take standard precautions, but it would have been nice to know that. I didn't find out until the other aide I was working with told me about it.

[loriangel14, RN]

Most LTC facilities don't use precautions or isolation for MRSA but it would have been good to tell you where the MRSA was on the patient.

[AaronsMommyxx]

Yes, I think you should definitely have been told. It's almost like not telling you the pt has AIDS. Just because the infection might not be in his stool, you should still know!!

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

Why is this guy allowed to leave a trail of BM and urine all over the place anyway? MRSA or not, that's gross. I won't say it's never happened where I work but not in the hallway on a regular basis!

[systoly]

Direct care staff needs to know. Direct care staff also needs to be educated on the disease process and know the difference between colonization and acute infection.